Kesler ‘The Train’ Malone was a boxer, a boxer down to his very form. An ultra heavy weight, with a thick muscular build and a stout burly frame. His skin was dark and nearly hairless, barely concealing the bulging muscle mass hidden beneath it. His head was cleanly shaven as was his face. The only hair on his head at all formed the two thick eyebrows that were placed over his cold gray eyes.

His eyes were unusual for a black man’s, but they were meant to be that way, to shake the nerve of his opponent. Kesler was good at doing that. In fact, that was the thing he missed the most about boxing. That and winning of course.

He sat idly on an old wooden crate, reminiscing about his former career. It was a good life, but certainly not what it should have been. He had been a champion, but never did he see the millions his manager was raking in. He was a slave for those bitches. But never again, he was free now. He missed the money and the treatment, but it hadn’t been his money anyway. And besides, he would get it back and this time it would be on his own.

“You nervous Kesler?” a voice suddenly asked him.

The former boxer looked over his shoulder and saw Frank staring back at him. Frank Bennet was a blond haired man with a stocky physique. His hair was grown long and drawn back in a loose ponytail, although the grease stained baseball cap he wore kept it

mostly covered. He was a construction worker by trade and his body showed it. Nowhere near Kesler’s shape, but still a form to be reckoned with.

“Nervous about what?” Kesler turned away from him.

“About mother showin’ up.” Frank edged closer to him. “I mean, we’re finally gonna meet her. Aren’t you a bit nervous?”

“No I’m not fucking nervous. Why the hell should I be?”

“Oh, well I ain’t nervous either,” Frank said quickly. “I mean, I was just askin’ if you were, you know?”

The boxer ignored his statement and just shook his head slowly.

* * *

Devon Young watched the two men from across the interior of the warehouse. He too shook his head and leaned over to man who was leaning against the wall next to him.

“Hey, Trev,” he nudged him. “Why the fuck is Frank always kissing Kesler’s ass like that?”

Trevor Ramsey leaned back over to Devon and spoke softly. “He looks up to Kesler. He wants to impresses him.”

“Stupid ass,” Devon shook his head again.

Devon Young knew Frank quite well, even before Andrea had brought them all together. In fact, she had recruited them at the same time. But in all the years he had know Frank, he had never seen him act like such a schmuck.

“God damn suck-tail.”

Trevor chuckled, slightly amused by Devon’s opinion of his colleague. Trevor was a slimly built man, in comparison to the two construction workers. His hair was a deep chestnut color and his eyes a light brown, the same color as his thick mustache.

“What time is it?” Trevor wanted to know.

Devon looked back at him oddly. “Ain’t you got a watch man?”

“Broke it the other day going out to a fire,” Trevor told him. “It got hitched on the side of the truck as I was getting off.”

“Shit man,” Devon consoled crudely. “Life of a fireman I guess.”

Trevor merely chuckled. “So what time is it?”

“Almost twelve.”

“I need to be back at the station by one.” Trevor curled his lip in impatience. “I know this is important and all, but I can’t be late for duty.”

“Yeah, Frank and I gotta be back to work by one too. Speaking of which. . .”

Cupping his hands over his mouth, Devon shouted towards the Boxer and his sole adoring fan. “Yo, Frank! You wanna get some food?”

“Eh?” was the loud reply.

“Food!” he shouted. “I’m fuckin’ hungry!”

“Huh? But what if she comes!” Frank called back.

“Hey Devon?” Trevor poked him. “Why don’t you walk over there so you guys can hear each other better, okay?”

“Yeah, good idea,” Devon agreed quickly and then trotted off towards Frank and Kesler.

Trevor watched as the three of them began discussing the intricate matter of what food they would consume, as if it really mattered. He did feel a bit hungry himself, but he could wait until he went on duty, and then get something from the kitchen. He looked over to his left and saw the other three members of their group, gathered around a table placed against the back wall of the warehouse. They were eating and chatting quietly amongst themselves as they usually did.

There was Dalton Mills, a corporate helicopter pilot employed by National Bank. He was tall and slim, almost skinny with sandy blond hair and deep green eyes, a real pretty boy. Next to him was Sonia Wilson, a high level accountant, who worked for the same bank. She was petite with long blond hair the same color as Dalton’s. In fact the two of them could easily be mistaken for siblings and they even acted like it, when they weren’t fighting anyway. Trevor had not spoken to Sonia often, even though she always seemed to want to talk with him. In truth, he didn’t enjoy their conversations much at all. Sonia always seemed to intimidate him with her intelligence, and not to mention her glaring purple eyes.

The last person sitting with them was Cindy, Cindy Reed. She of all the people, had to be Trevor’s favorite. He was sure she was most of the guys’ favorite. She was black with silky brown skin. Her hair was long and straight and cut to mold around her beautiful oval face. Her eyes were sparkling, grayish silver, which matched perfectly, with the smile she seemed to always wear. An exotic dancer who worked at the casino downtown. She was generally very friendly and easy to talk to. Although, she was a bit limited in her breath of knowledge. But then, she was less than a year old after all.

Trevor never really liked these gatherings. He never knew which group he fit into. The others seemed to immediately associate him with Kesler and the lot due to his profession and size. But he could rarely put up with their loud mouth cursing and mundane conversations for long. Still, Trevor did not really feel comfortable around Sonia and the others either. They seemed too high class, or smart. That was the major drawback of knowing exactly what someone’s occupation was, Trevor figured. He knew that their professions superseded his, and because they were all synthetic, and built for that specific purpose in mind, that they as a person superseded him. He was the odd man out, the middle class. But more than that, he differed from all of them in another respect; he was the oldest. Or at least he would be until this woman Suta arrived.

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Trevor was just over seven years old. With the hazards of his job, he had seen what seemed to him, like a lifetime of horrors and tragedies. He had a different perspective altogether than the people around him. Cindy, Sonia, Kesler, none of them had been exposed to anything even close to the things he had endured. They had relatively safe, uneventful lives. He wondered why they were even here at all sometimes. He knew he would be content with any of their lives, in exchange for his own. But this woman Suta, she would understand. She was a soldier and had been to war, probably experienced things much worse than he had. Not only that, but she was old, much older than himself.

He was sure he could fit in with her. Trevor was looking forward to meeting her.

Time passed and Trevor finally grew tired of standing alone. He decided to walk over towards Cindy and the others, and perhaps join in their conversation. As he approached, the cheerful dancer smiled up at him and waved.

“Hey Trev,” she patted on the bench. “Come have a seat next to me.”

“Hello, all.” Trevor smiled at the rest of the table and sat beside Cindy.

“Glad you to joined us, Trevor,” Sonia returned his smile and gave him an awkward stare with her eyes. “Don’t mind Dalton and I, we’re just chatting.”

Dalton then waved to him casually, and continued his conversation with Sonia.

“So how are you, Cindy?” Trevor patted her lightly on the knee.

“I’m doing good,” she turned to face him. “I’m so excited.”

“Are you?”

“Yeah!” She giggled slightly. “I can’t believe we are going to finally meet her in person.”

Trevor only nodded. “You seem excited that’s for sure.”

“Do you think she’ll like me?” Cindy asked him with imploring eyes.

“Of course, who couldn’t like you?” Trevor stroked her cheek gently causing her to giggle even more.

“You spoil me, Trev.” she grinned at him. “Going to give me an ego you are.”

Trevor laughed.

“What is so funny, Trevor?” Sonia suddenly asked, staring at him again.

Trevor wasn’t even aware Sonia had been listening. “Nothing, Cindy and I were just talking.”

“Oh.” was her only reply.

Trevor saw the opportunity to find out a little more about the two people he seemed to know the least about. He decided to probe a little bit.

“So what do you two think about everything that’s going on?” he posed the question directly towards Sonia and Dalton.

They responded with confused expressions on their faces.

“About what exactly?” Dalton tried to confirm his question.

“About Mother and what might happen in the future,” Trevor said. “Have you thought about any of that?”

“What do you mean?” Sonia cocked her head. “Do you mean What she is going to think of us?”

“I certainly have thought about that,” Dalton remarked quickly. “Personally I think she will be very pleased with the four of us, but I don’t know about Frank, Devon and especially Kesler.”

“Kesler isn’t much of a team player.” Sonia rapped her fingers on the table. “And the others aren’t well. .. They aren’t really that proficient in anything useful.”

Trevor was taken off guard by their responses. He could tell that if he were not in their presence at the time, he too would be grouped with Kesler and the others by their high personal standards. It shocked him how much prejudice existed even within their own culture, within their own little group even. He began to have serious doubts as to whether they could ever accomplish equal rights among humans, if they could not even find equality amongst themselves.

“Actually,” Trevor took a deep breath. “I was not even referring to that at all.”

“Oh?” said Sonia. “What were you trying to get at then?”

“I’m talking about sacrifice,” Trevor said coldly. “Like the one Alex made trying to get Mother here. Would you be willing to make the same sort?”

“Sure,” Dalton answered quickly.

Sonia nodded in agreement. “I know I would.”

Trevor scoffed inwardly at their responses. “And how do you know, Sonia‘? How do you know that you would if the situation came to be? Have you ever had to make the choice of sacrificing yourself to save another before?”

There was a sudden uneasy pause. Trevor could feel the disturbance he had caused within their group, and he liked it.

“Well I-”

“I’ve done it lots of times,” Trevor cut Sonia off. “And Alex, Devon, Frank. They all put their lives on the line every day, working hazardous conditions no human ever would, just to get a building built in half the time as normal. And all for a fifth of the money you and Dalton are pulling in every year. They know what it means to be oppressed. They know what it is to be forced to sacrifice. Now if they do that, I know those guys would be more than willing to lay down their lives for something that they themselves, actually believed in. I think you are wrong. I think you’re the ones Mother is going to be most disappointed in. Not them.”

Rising from his seat sharply, he glared them straight in the eye. Maybe he wasn’t exactly like the construction workers he just spoke of, but he could surely understand them more than he could the people in front of him now. He looked over to Cindy. He felt a little bad as he saw the shock in her eyes. He didn’t mean for what he was saying to be directed towards her, but in some ways, it did apply to her as well. Trevor walked away from the table and headed back to the wall he was leaning against earlier. Solitude seemed to be the group that he fit into most.

Trevor heard garage door to the warehouse opening. He stopped and saw Andrea’s car waiting outside as the paneled door slid slowly upwards. Changing his direction, he walked towards the door just as the car slide through the opening. He could see the others rise from their seats and begin approaching.

By the looks on their faces, it seemed as if a messiah had arrived. Even Kesler’s stem bottom lip had dropped somewhat in anxious anticipation. Trevor could not deny that he too was curious about meeting Mother, but his real interest lay in Suta.

The car pulled to a stop and Andrea quickly exited from behind the wheel. She smiled at them warmly, as she always did, but said nothing. Instead, she proceeded around the car and opened the passenger side.

From underneath the door, Trevor saw a slender metallic foot, step out onto the concrete. Then slowly, a small figure rose from out of the passenger seat. It was a woman, or maybe a girl. Or at least it looked somewhat female. Through the long silvery hair that hung loosely from its head, Trevor saw a slender face of pure blue metal. It looked like a mannequin. Was this Mother?

Andrea led the small figure around the front of the car and towards the rest of the group, who were as dumbfounded as Trevor was. He then saw the rear door of the car open and a dark haired woman stepped out. She was medium height and wore a cloak of some kind. Her face was attractive, as were her eyes. Trevor could see that she was bewildered at the group of people staring back at her.

“Everyone,” Andrea finally spoke. “This is our Mother.”

There was a deadly silence. No one had expected her to look like she did. Trevor found it hard to fit the image he had seen of her, into the strange metallic form that now stood beside Andrea. It was almost shocking.

Suddenly, Cindy stepped forward.

The form that was Mother looked towards her.

“It is alright, Cindy,” it spoke in an odd yet familiar voice. “It is me.”

Cindy stepped closer and Mother held her arms aloft.

The young dancer smiled and blushed slightly, but continued forward and embraced the tiny figure within her arms. And then she smiled.

Almost at once, the others flocked towards her in a massive herd. They called her name reverently, Mother, Mother as they each waited their turn to touch the being that had brought them to this point in their lives. Smiles were displayed on their faces as they embraced her, telling her how glad they were that she was now here.

Once again, Trevor found himself on the outside. He stood alone, keeping himself away from the warm gestures and greetings, that seemed all too practiced and forced. He looked over them and saw the woman in the cloak, staring at them as vacantly as he was.

Stepping around the crowd, he approached her. She did not notice him coming until the last minute, and she turned her head with a look of both surprise and relief.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he outstretched his hand in greeting. “I’m Trevor Ramsey.”

She shook it very firmly. “Barro Suta.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Trevor smiled. “I’ve actually been quite looking forward to meeting you.”

“I’m flattered,” Barro returned his smile sheepishly. “Though I can’t really say that

I’ve heard much about you, I’m afraid.”

Trevor chuckled. “I guess I’m not one of the big attractions around here.” He then jerked his head towards the virtual mob surrounding Mother and Andrea.

Barro stared at them as well, a blank expression on her face. “Looks like I’m not one either.”

Trevor beamed at the woman named Suta, who returned his smile with a gentle laugh.

He liked her immediately.